Food, family and memories are as intertwined in the South as if woven on the same thread. At any function we attend, from a party to a wedding to a funeral, we are as likely to talk as much about the food that was there, as we are about why we are gathered. ~Mary Foreman

I'm your cook, not your doctor. ~PAULA DEEN

I found out what the secret to life is: friends. Best friends. ~Ninny Threadgoode

Friday, August 13, 2010

Chicken is first lightly fried, then a gravy is prepared with the seasoned flour and pan drippings, the chicken is dunked right in the gravy and slow baked.

Cajun Chicken Fricassee

This is not your typical fried chicken with gravy, oh no. While the chicken does indeed get a quick fry, the purpose of frying the chicken is primarily to season the oil and add body to the gravy, so don't expect a crunchy fried chicken end product here. Gravy is then made from the seasoned drippings and the chicken is dunked right into the gravy and the whole thing is finished slow in the oven. Holy fat grams, it is some kind of delicious y'all.

I recommend a cast iron dutch oven and dark meat chicken for this dish so use legs, thighs or a combination of the two, though you can certainly use a whole cut up chicken also. First you'll dredge the chicken in seasoned flour and then fry it - you're just looking to lightly brown it, since it finishes in the oven - and just enough oil for browning, maybe about a cup. Reserve the seasoned flour and set the browned chicken on a rack while you get the rest of the dish ready.

Saute onion and bell pepper in the drippings and once that is cooked down and tender, stir in 3/4 cup of the seasoned flour a little at a time until it's fully incorporated.

Let that cook for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pretend you see me adding in the water and the base here because apparently I forgot to snap a picture of that! Add enough of the water so that you get a nice consistency on your gravy, the way that you like it. Add the chicken to the gravy.

Turn the chicken to coat it, put it into a preheated 350 degree F oven and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally for about one hour, or until chicken is cooked through and tender.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat the canola oil in a dutch oven over medium high heat.

Sprinkle both sides of the chicken lightly with seasoned salt. Whisk the Cajun seasoning into the flour and dredge the chicken into the seasoned flour, shaking off excess. Reserve the seasoned flour. Fry the chicken pieces until lightly browned all over, set aside on a rack to drain.

Add the onion and bell pepper to the hot oil and drippings and saute until tender, but not over-browned. Stir in 3/4 cup of the reserved flour, a little at a time, until fully incorporated. Cook, stirring constantly for about 5 minutes. Begin adding the water, one cup at a time, blending each cup in before adding the next. Stop when gravy reaches the desired consistency. Stir in the chicken base and bring to a boil. Remove pot from the heat and add the chicken to the pot, turning to coat all sides of each piece; transfer pot to the oven. Bake at 350 for about one hour, gently stirring up from the bottom to prevent burning, and turning pieces occasionally, until chicken is cooked through.

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I live in NC now, but was raised in northern IN. BUT my grandmother, who was nuttin but a "hoosier", make her chicken just like this. My mother couldn't replicate it, and I"ve never tried, but I WILL NOW!!!! Looks mahvelous!!!

It is superbly delish y'all, and while I know it's hotter than hades and the humidity is so thick you could cut it with a knife down here in The Deep South too, I see some of y'all have been turning on those ovens and baking cookies and cakes and what-not anyways! ;) We don't let no summer heat keep us out of the kitchen for that long, now do we?

Trust me, while ya might not want to crank the ole oven on every single day with this heat, this dish is just as worthy of the task!! Enjoy.

OK. I have been on vacation this week. I fixed your Custardy French Toast on Monday morning and your Dirty Rice for Monday's dinner, the Egg in a basket, for Tuesday and today, and now I'm taking in the aroma of the Chicken and Gravy! I don't think I'm going to be content until I try all your recipes. And I have not been disappointed yet!!

Oh MsMaj, I love you!! :) Seriously though, I'm sure not everything I make is a homerun for everybody, but it sure is good to hear when someone has tried several of my recipes and has been happy! That makes ME happy!! Thanks so much for being a Deep South Dish reader, and especially for taking the time to come back and comment.

Made this today. Was delicious. I used a crock pot instead of baking in the oven High setting for 3 hours. Chicken was fall-off-the-bone tender. Hubby even complimented the gravy. Being from the North, he seldoms likes gravy.

I made this tonight, but tweaked it a little bit. I browned the flour a bit so it had more of a golden color, and added the aromatics to that, and I used chicken stock instead of water & base or bouillon. I used a frozen onion, pepper, & celery mix instead of chopping my own onion & peppers, and added one finely chopped clove of garlic, too. It was fantastic, reminded me of my Cajun grandfather's stewed chicken.

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